IT'S SIX IN THE MORNING...

...And I am still not abed. To be fair I did retire at a reasonable hour but sleep eluded me so I got up again and I've felt wide awake ever since. I did feel around three-ish like I would sleep but this feeling, sadly, did not last long.

Why on earth would anybody else give a toss about a twenty-five-year-old woman in Lancashire getting little sleep? I don't suppose they would but insomnia, of which I have suffered quite severely since childhood, can be a lonely affliction. Being the only one awake has it's advantages if you can work out how to use your sister's DVD player to watch any of her extensive collection of films in peace, or if you have unfinished tasks to complete. But if you happen to be experiencing one of your bleaker moods at the same time as insomnia hits, it's horrible to be awake.

Well, this is my blog not a confessional nor the psychiatrist's couch so enough self-pity.

In just over five hours I'll be signing the tenancy agreement on my new flat; my very first home away from home (barring student digs at university, which don't count because my one room was the size of my Mum's kitchen).

I have a somewhat eclectic taste in everything, including homeware so I predict several "Oh my God"s from my sister when she sees how I have decorated (elephant-shaped salt and pepper shakers are DEFINITELY on my shopping list, as well as a chimp 'cuckoo' clock, eventually).

The one thing that will be hard to get used to is the absence (hopefully temporary) of small people. For the last seven years I have shared a home with my wonderful little Norfolk terrier/ Jack Russell cross, Pal, and the last six weeks staying with my sister (who is a titch, admittedly but not the dwarf I am referring to here), two-year-old Leo, my gorgeous nephew. How I will get used to it just being me I don't know. I have considered getting small pets when I'm settled, but I can't decide what type. So far I've thought of fish, cockroaches, shrimp, hamsters (a safe one since I've had one before) or to start slowly on the solo-parenting, a cactus. I'll let you all (three) know what I end up getting and post pictures....